Today's theme was Hope.
We began with a short body prayer, and a reading by Neesa of a Rumi poem, The Guest House.
The Guest House
This being human is a guest house.
Every morning a new arrival.
A joy, a depression, a meanness,
some momentary awareness comes
as an unexpected visitor.
Welcome and entertain them all!
Even if they're a crowd of sorrows,
who violently sweep your house
empty of its furniture,
still, treat each guest honorably.
He may be clearing you out
for some new delight.
The dark thought, the shame, the malice,
meet them at the door laughing,
and invite them in.
Be grateful for whoever comes,
because each has been sent
as a guide from beyond.
Then we sang two songs; Door of my Heart and Into His Presence;
Door of my heart, open wide I keep for thee.
Wilt thou come, wilt thou come, in this moment come to me?
Night and day, night and day, I look for you night and day.
Into His Presence would I enter now.
Into Her Presence would I enter now.
Into The Presence would I enter now.
Peter read a poem on hope.
No-one Is An Island
In the back of my mind there are people drowning and crying for help
And people dying of thirst:
I try not to hear them.
My comfortable world is built on denial:
So my joys are bordered with sorrow
And my security is undermined by fear.
Joy is shallow and brittle
And comes only from great determination
Or from climbing paradoxes in a mystical way.
But if I accept the catastrophes behind me
My fear feels validated and safe
And agrees to behave in public:
It becomes a horse saddled with hope
That I ride into the future.
Let’s ride together, you and I
Like Indians and cowboys, together and equal
Righting wrongs, repairing the world, preventing disasters;
There’s really nothing else worth doing.
Then we did an activity where we got in touch with our despair and offered each other hope. We each wrote or drew a representation of our despair, either personal or on a global theme. Then we went around the circle either voicing our despair or just placing our drawing in the centre of the room, and responded to each person's sharing by reading out the words of hope we had been given.
Then we did two dances;
Between darkness and light I will always walk
And in every place that I walk
I will open a window of light
And plant a seed of love
I will open a window of light
And plant a seed of love
where we walked around and met with each other to share the "window of light" and "seed of love".
Then we did a more joyful and energetic song about the love between Krishna (Govinda) and Radhe;
Radhe, Radhe, Radhe Govinda Bolo
Radhe, Radhe, Radhe Govinda Bolo
Govinda, Govinda, Govinda
Govinda, Govinda, Govinda
Radhe Bo, Radhe Bo, Radhe Bo, Radhe Bo
Radhe, Radhe
Radhe Bo, Radhe Bo, Radhe Bo, Radhe Bo
We finished by gathering around the centre and singing "This little Heart of mine".
Sunday, 12 June 2011
Sunday, 8 May 2011
Meeting 8th May
Today's theme was Gratitude. And as some of our regular contributors were away this weekend, we were very grateful to our guest Daniel for leading us in some songs.
We began with a poem on the theme of gratitude, "I Thank Thee" by Monica Miller. Then I spoke of the theme of gratitude in the Christian, Islamic and Jewish traditions, and read a short piece by Robert Frager (which can be found on the website Spirituality and Practice). Then we sang:
For sun and rain,
For grass and grain,
For all who toil on sea and soil
That we may eat our daily food
To you our love and thanks we give.
Daniel led us in a song "Hakuna mungu kama wewe / There is no one like Jesus". Then Peter read his poem:
Gratitude
I pray that I may be grateful
For all the things I take for granted.
No; I say that I am already grateful
For everything in my life.
For the four damp walls of this old house,
For my imperfect partner who abides with my imperfection,
For that ten pound note in my wallet,
For the gift of air.
I am even grateful for my ingratitude;
Discontentedness makes me start new things.
I wrap ingratitude, grumpiness,
And the whole world in a cloth of light,
And wrap my grateful aching arms
Around that mixed lumpy bundle
Of trouble and delight.
Eve led us in an activity. We thought of something we felt grateful for (we were encouraged to think of something individual to us), then went around the circle speaking what we had written, with everyone joining in after each: "And all our hearts expand with yours, in gratitude we come together".
For the mysterious magic of each awakening and the days passing into night.
I feel grateful for all that I have in my life that has helped me to cope with my life, especially the kind, loving support of people and animals, especially after my mother has died, to help me to feel less alone.
I am grateful for the breath the Lord gives me to live day by day, minute and second.
I am grateful for the lessons of love I have learnt from friends.
I am feeling grateful for the people who came into my life who enabled me to grow into wisdom and understanding.
Gratitude for the flowering cow parsley and hawthorn along the lanes whilst out walking with friends.
I feel so grateful for the immense beauty, joy and expansion of my heart when I remember to stop from busyness and to breathe and sink into being.
I am grateful for young children who want to come and play.
I am grateful for time, space and energy to create a beautiful living environment that feels right for me.
I feel grateful for beauty in nature, music and song, and for joy in Dance - and for the difficulties too.
I am thankful for the rising of the sun every morning, when the sky gets brighter and the warmth comes back again.
I am grateful for my wife and daughters who are teaching me how to love.
Then we danced to "From you I receive, to you I give, together we share, by this we live". We then had some space to share our thoughts; Harsha shared with us a saying she had heard, "Life is God's gift to you; what you do with it is your gift to God". Daniel led us in singing again, then we gathered around the centre and I read a story about the Jewish violinist Perlman (you can read it on the website Jewish Pathways). Finally we sang "This little heart of mine".
The next meeting will be June 12th.
We began with a poem on the theme of gratitude, "I Thank Thee" by Monica Miller. Then I spoke of the theme of gratitude in the Christian, Islamic and Jewish traditions, and read a short piece by Robert Frager (which can be found on the website Spirituality and Practice). Then we sang:
For sun and rain,
For grass and grain,
For all who toil on sea and soil
That we may eat our daily food
To you our love and thanks we give.
Daniel led us in a song "Hakuna mungu kama wewe / There is no one like Jesus". Then Peter read his poem:
Gratitude
I pray that I may be grateful
For all the things I take for granted.
No; I say that I am already grateful
For everything in my life.
For the four damp walls of this old house,
For my imperfect partner who abides with my imperfection,
For that ten pound note in my wallet,
For the gift of air.
I am even grateful for my ingratitude;
Discontentedness makes me start new things.
I wrap ingratitude, grumpiness,
And the whole world in a cloth of light,
And wrap my grateful aching arms
Around that mixed lumpy bundle
Of trouble and delight.
Eve led us in an activity. We thought of something we felt grateful for (we were encouraged to think of something individual to us), then went around the circle speaking what we had written, with everyone joining in after each: "And all our hearts expand with yours, in gratitude we come together".
For the mysterious magic of each awakening and the days passing into night.
I feel grateful for all that I have in my life that has helped me to cope with my life, especially the kind, loving support of people and animals, especially after my mother has died, to help me to feel less alone.
I am grateful for the breath the Lord gives me to live day by day, minute and second.
I am grateful for the lessons of love I have learnt from friends.
I am feeling grateful for the people who came into my life who enabled me to grow into wisdom and understanding.
Gratitude for the flowering cow parsley and hawthorn along the lanes whilst out walking with friends.
I feel so grateful for the immense beauty, joy and expansion of my heart when I remember to stop from busyness and to breathe and sink into being.
I am grateful for young children who want to come and play.
I am grateful for time, space and energy to create a beautiful living environment that feels right for me.
I feel grateful for beauty in nature, music and song, and for joy in Dance - and for the difficulties too.
I am thankful for the rising of the sun every morning, when the sky gets brighter and the warmth comes back again.
I am grateful for my wife and daughters who are teaching me how to love.
Then we danced to "From you I receive, to you I give, together we share, by this we live". We then had some space to share our thoughts; Harsha shared with us a saying she had heard, "Life is God's gift to you; what you do with it is your gift to God". Daniel led us in singing again, then we gathered around the centre and I read a story about the Jewish violinist Perlman (you can read it on the website Jewish Pathways). Finally we sang "This little heart of mine".
The next meeting will be June 12th.
Sunday, 10 April 2011
Meeting 10th April
Today's theme was Unity, and we did a lot of singing!
Neesa began with a poem and a body prayer:
All of Creation feeds my soul.
Every leaf and every tree feeds my soul,
The sun and the stars feed my soul,
Every creature of the earth, the air and the water feeds my soul,
Everyone I meet feeds my soul,
And I grow strong and wise.
Then we sang:
When two or more
Are gathered together in my name
Then there I am
Forever among you.
Peter read his poem "The New Religion":
We came by chance, not by our will
To this tiny church on the side of a hill.
And we stood outside and enjoyed the view
Between a skeleton oak and a well-fleshed yew.
Out of the earth this church had grown,
Formed like a bubble of uplifted stone;
A cave held up on the backs of trees
Resting there through the centuries.
And we were ready to be moving on
When behind us we heard a surge of song.
This bit of history was still alive,
Old ways of faith and worship survive.
The voices joined and became a choir
That lifted us up on its gentle fire.
There in the safety of their old beliefs
People transcended their lifelong griefs.
And we could feel in ourselves the welcome release
And steal a share in their weekly peace.
We felt united with those rescued souls
And questioned our modern personal goals.
Here was the song of the human heart
And the comfort that true belief imparts.
But we couldn’t surrender to the god they praised –
That was a price that we could not pay.
That god of vengeance, dogma, war -
We left him behind that old oak door,
With hope in our hearts and our spirits free,
But our souls as displaced as refugees.
We carried on walking around the hill,
Missing something, and we miss it still -
The way to find a meeting of souls
Where every faith will have its role.
We’re searching still for a new religion
That draws the world into holy communion;
Where the distance between us becomes sacred space
Crossed by a palpable radiant grace.
The activity involved more singing, or "toning" - we came together in a circle around the centre with arms around each other's waists and let ourselves make our own sounds, which gradually harmonised into a union of voices before dying away. Then we sang "Returning, returning, returning to the mother of us all". Then Neesa read a poem on the theme of unity.
We did two dances; the first was called "Soul Weavers", which we danced weaving in and out between each other:
We've been together before,
Dancing in starlight upon this same shore,
Soul weavers of sound and light,
Gathered together once more.
and the second "Hu, hu, hu, hu Allah", bowing to each other with arms crossed and hands on shoulders.
Jehanne and Rob sang us two songs of Spring, "This new season of Spring" and "April Fool":
When I woke up this morning
There were rabbits running round my bed,
A furry feeling behind my eyes,
White rabbits inside my head.
When I came down to breakfast
A buck hare was chasing the cat.
When I put on my coat to go outside, oh lord,
There was rabbits inside my hat.
Chorus:
There are things that I can see when I am tumbling around
They never taught me when I went to school,
And things that I can hear beside the ringing in my ears,
‘Cos I’m an April fool, oh yes, ‘cos I’m and April fool.
I tell you there’s no end to the ringing,
Because that’s how the fooling goes.
I’ve got bells on my sceptre and bells in my ears
And bells on the end of my toes.
I’ll let you into a confidential secret:
I’m really a king in disguise,
Or a queen or a tramp or old Mrs. Jones,
Who smiles when the sun’s in her eyes.
Chorus
Sometimes I get the impression
That the world is laughing at me,
But can I help it if standing on my head
Is the only way that I can see?
This morning I had a mighty row with myself,
But what can a poor fellow do
When half of my face is black and half white?
I feel as if I’m split two.
Chorus
One day as I was a-tumbling
I saw them felling trees all day
And stoking up the engine of this monster machine
Mowing down the poor folks in its way.
And I met a strange man in dark glasses,
But they were’nt meant to keep out the sun.
His intent was to lock us all up in our heads
‘Til all chances for changing were done.
Chorus
Well I admit that fooling’s a funny kind of game,
No rhyme and no reason, but then,
There are things that you can do when you are only a clown,
So I’ll have that verse over again:
One day as I was a tumbling
I saw them planting trees all day
And taking apart that monster machine
And dancing all the days away.
Chorus
When I woke up this morning
It was you I was dreaming about,
But the white rabbits bowed and put on their hats
And told me it’s time to go out.
Well I’ve only made a start on the fooling.
You’ll have to put me through the fooling school.
Although twelve o’clock has passed and gone,
I’m still an April fool.
Chorus
Song lyric © Jehanne Mehta
We gathered around the centre and sang "When two or more" again, then blew out the candles and offered prayers to Japan, Ivory Coast, Libya and anywhere else we felt they were needed. Then we sang "This little heart of mine".
Announcements: Contact Peter if you wish to suggest a charity for this month or future months' donations.
Next month's Celebration of Life will be on 8th May, with the theme Gratitude. Neesa, Rob and Jehanne will all be away! But we hope to have plenty of singing and dancing for you anyway.
Enjoy the Easter break!
Neesa began with a poem and a body prayer:
All of Creation feeds my soul.
Every leaf and every tree feeds my soul,
The sun and the stars feed my soul,
Every creature of the earth, the air and the water feeds my soul,
Everyone I meet feeds my soul,
And I grow strong and wise.
Then we sang:
When two or more
Are gathered together in my name
Then there I am
Forever among you.
Peter read his poem "The New Religion":
We came by chance, not by our will
To this tiny church on the side of a hill.
And we stood outside and enjoyed the view
Between a skeleton oak and a well-fleshed yew.
Out of the earth this church had grown,
Formed like a bubble of uplifted stone;
A cave held up on the backs of trees
Resting there through the centuries.
And we were ready to be moving on
When behind us we heard a surge of song.
This bit of history was still alive,
Old ways of faith and worship survive.
The voices joined and became a choir
That lifted us up on its gentle fire.
There in the safety of their old beliefs
People transcended their lifelong griefs.
And we could feel in ourselves the welcome release
And steal a share in their weekly peace.
We felt united with those rescued souls
And questioned our modern personal goals.
Here was the song of the human heart
And the comfort that true belief imparts.
But we couldn’t surrender to the god they praised –
That was a price that we could not pay.
That god of vengeance, dogma, war -
We left him behind that old oak door,
With hope in our hearts and our spirits free,
But our souls as displaced as refugees.
We carried on walking around the hill,
Missing something, and we miss it still -
The way to find a meeting of souls
Where every faith will have its role.
We’re searching still for a new religion
That draws the world into holy communion;
Where the distance between us becomes sacred space
Crossed by a palpable radiant grace.
The activity involved more singing, or "toning" - we came together in a circle around the centre with arms around each other's waists and let ourselves make our own sounds, which gradually harmonised into a union of voices before dying away. Then we sang "Returning, returning, returning to the mother of us all". Then Neesa read a poem on the theme of unity.
We did two dances; the first was called "Soul Weavers", which we danced weaving in and out between each other:
We've been together before,
Dancing in starlight upon this same shore,
Soul weavers of sound and light,
Gathered together once more.
and the second "Hu, hu, hu, hu Allah", bowing to each other with arms crossed and hands on shoulders.
Jehanne and Rob sang us two songs of Spring, "This new season of Spring" and "April Fool":
When I woke up this morning
There were rabbits running round my bed,
A furry feeling behind my eyes,
White rabbits inside my head.
When I came down to breakfast
A buck hare was chasing the cat.
When I put on my coat to go outside, oh lord,
There was rabbits inside my hat.
Chorus:
There are things that I can see when I am tumbling around
They never taught me when I went to school,
And things that I can hear beside the ringing in my ears,
‘Cos I’m an April fool, oh yes, ‘cos I’m and April fool.
I tell you there’s no end to the ringing,
Because that’s how the fooling goes.
I’ve got bells on my sceptre and bells in my ears
And bells on the end of my toes.
I’ll let you into a confidential secret:
I’m really a king in disguise,
Or a queen or a tramp or old Mrs. Jones,
Who smiles when the sun’s in her eyes.
Chorus
Sometimes I get the impression
That the world is laughing at me,
But can I help it if standing on my head
Is the only way that I can see?
This morning I had a mighty row with myself,
But what can a poor fellow do
When half of my face is black and half white?
I feel as if I’m split two.
Chorus
One day as I was a-tumbling
I saw them felling trees all day
And stoking up the engine of this monster machine
Mowing down the poor folks in its way.
And I met a strange man in dark glasses,
But they were’nt meant to keep out the sun.
His intent was to lock us all up in our heads
‘Til all chances for changing were done.
Chorus
Well I admit that fooling’s a funny kind of game,
No rhyme and no reason, but then,
There are things that you can do when you are only a clown,
So I’ll have that verse over again:
One day as I was a tumbling
I saw them planting trees all day
And taking apart that monster machine
And dancing all the days away.
Chorus
When I woke up this morning
It was you I was dreaming about,
But the white rabbits bowed and put on their hats
And told me it’s time to go out.
Well I’ve only made a start on the fooling.
You’ll have to put me through the fooling school.
Although twelve o’clock has passed and gone,
I’m still an April fool.
Chorus
Song lyric © Jehanne Mehta
We gathered around the centre and sang "When two or more" again, then blew out the candles and offered prayers to Japan, Ivory Coast, Libya and anywhere else we felt they were needed. Then we sang "This little heart of mine".
Announcements: Contact Peter if you wish to suggest a charity for this month or future months' donations.
Next month's Celebration of Life will be on 8th May, with the theme Gratitude. Neesa, Rob and Jehanne will all be away! But we hope to have plenty of singing and dancing for you anyway.
Enjoy the Easter break!
Sunday, 13 March 2011
Meeting 13th March
Today's theme was Freedom, inspired by the fight for freedom and democracy in North Africa and the Middle East.
We also remembered Japan and those countries affected by the earthquake and tsunami.
Neesa read a poem, linking last month's theme of living our dreams with today's theme of freedom; nothing is impossible.
Bharati and Dinesh played two songs;
Returning, Returning
Returning to the Mother of us all
and
Yemaya Assessu, Assessu Yemaya
Yemaya Olodo, Olodo Yemaya
You are a River of Love flowing endlessly free
You are One with the Earth, the Sky and the Sea
You are a River of Love flowing endlessly free
I surrender to You, You are All that I Need
Yemaya Assessu, Assessu Yemaya
Yemaya Olodo, Olodo Yemaya
Peter read some words by Kahlil Gibran (see this website for full text), and a poem about the desires and difficulties of freedom, which led into an activity where we sat in pairs, one spoke of what they wanted to be free to do and the other spoke as the voice of responsibility.
Neesa led us in a Sufi Dance of Universal Peace, singing Allah, Allah and calling in the life force. Jehanne and Rob were away this week, so Beth sang a song "Life Uncommon" by Jewel, from the Spirit album (see You Tube clip).
We finished by sitting around the central candles with Bharati and Dinesh leading us in "The Long Time Sun";
May the Long Time Sun Shine upon You
All Love surround You
And the Pure Light within You
Guide your way on
Guide your way on
(also available on You Tube)
Peter had prepared copies of last month's joint poem;
Instructions to the Sleeping Self
Like leaves blowing in the wind
I will catch myself.
At the edge of myself I hold out my hand
And feed myself with the possibility of being.
I give myself time,
I give myself space.
I am grateful for each new day,
I love more and fear less.
I hold onto my dreams,
I believe in me.
I come out of hidind,
And meet my own dear self,
I love more and fear less.
The light inside me shines.
I am a fountain rising out of my body
Falling beautifully into the world.
I keep stepping into the unknown,
I trust my feet.
I laugh and love and shout and learn,
My doing comes out of my being,
I stand up to be counted.
I discover I am a compassionate being.
How would it be if I knew I was already awake?
Next month's Celebration of Life will be on April 10th.
We also remembered Japan and those countries affected by the earthquake and tsunami.
Neesa read a poem, linking last month's theme of living our dreams with today's theme of freedom; nothing is impossible.
Bharati and Dinesh played two songs;
Returning, Returning
Returning to the Mother of us all
and
Yemaya Assessu, Assessu Yemaya
Yemaya Olodo, Olodo Yemaya
You are a River of Love flowing endlessly free
You are One with the Earth, the Sky and the Sea
You are a River of Love flowing endlessly free
I surrender to You, You are All that I Need
Yemaya Assessu, Assessu Yemaya
Yemaya Olodo, Olodo Yemaya
Peter read some words by Kahlil Gibran (see this website for full text), and a poem about the desires and difficulties of freedom, which led into an activity where we sat in pairs, one spoke of what they wanted to be free to do and the other spoke as the voice of responsibility.
Neesa led us in a Sufi Dance of Universal Peace, singing Allah, Allah and calling in the life force. Jehanne and Rob were away this week, so Beth sang a song "Life Uncommon" by Jewel, from the Spirit album (see You Tube clip).
We finished by sitting around the central candles with Bharati and Dinesh leading us in "The Long Time Sun";
May the Long Time Sun Shine upon You
All Love surround You
And the Pure Light within You
Guide your way on
Guide your way on
(also available on You Tube)
Peter had prepared copies of last month's joint poem;
Instructions to the Sleeping Self
Like leaves blowing in the wind
I will catch myself.
At the edge of myself I hold out my hand
And feed myself with the possibility of being.
I give myself time,
I give myself space.
I am grateful for each new day,
I love more and fear less.
I hold onto my dreams,
I believe in me.
I come out of hidind,
And meet my own dear self,
I love more and fear less.
The light inside me shines.
I am a fountain rising out of my body
Falling beautifully into the world.
I keep stepping into the unknown,
I trust my feet.
I laugh and love and shout and learn,
My doing comes out of my being,
I stand up to be counted.
I discover I am a compassionate being.
How would it be if I knew I was already awake?
Next month's Celebration of Life will be on April 10th.
Thursday, 24 February 2011
Tuesday, 15 February 2011
The Scientific Poetry Show
The Scientific Poetry Show
A multi-purpose evening of humorous poetry, unscientific science, spiritual poetry, and music.
The launch of 2 new books by Peter Adams, the “homeopathic poet” – one about homeopathy, one of his poetry. The evening will be a reading of poems of various kinds, with a poetic look at science and a scientific look at homeopathy woven in.
Peter is a Registered Homeopath, the owner of Stroud Natural Health Clinic, and a frequent contributor to poetry evenings in Stroud.
With music by Jehanne and Rob Mehta
Bar. Books and CDs for Sale
Free Admission
Saturday 5 March 2011, 8pm
Imperial Hotel, Stroud
(Near The Railway Station)
Sunday, 13 February 2011
Meeting 13th February
Today we were "dancing our dreams awake", moving from the internal, contemplative state of winter to a more active stance, thinking how we could manifest our hopes and dreams in the world.
Neesa began with a poem by Stephanie Kaza calling on Mother Earth. Then we sang a song "I walk in Beauty", to voice our intent to walk through life in a way that manifests our hopes and dreams.
I walk in beauty before me,
I walk in beauty behind me.
I walk in beauty above me,
I walk in beauty below me.
I walk in beauty all around me,
As I walk the beauty way
As I walk the beauty way
Peter read a poem:
Waking The Dreaming Self
I think I am walking on my own clean feet
But I end up knee deep in dirt.
I think I’m talking with my own pure tongue
But I hear poisonous words falling out of my mouth.
There is so much of me that I do not own -
I am riding a monster I cannot see
Except in the life I’ve made
And the world we share.
What is there waiting beneath our dreams, beneath our sleep
For our waking to reach down like dawn
And open it’s secrets?
What monsters, what caves, what treasures
Await the touch of our nervous feet,
And what streams of living water
Rise from those deep places?
Again and again life leads me to the living water
And I do not drink.
Again and again life takes me to the edge of my self
And I do not step over.
Again and again life shows me my ignorance
And I forget what I have seen.
Between opportunity and inertia, between courage and fear
I grow slowly like a crystal washed in a solution of experience.
I am learning the lesson of love as fast as I can
And painfully slowly.
I keep getting into trouble
And life keeps leading me to the water;
Next time I will stoop and drink.
Then Peter and Eve led an activity where we sent a message to our potential selves, showing how they might be brought into being over the coming year. Eve inspired us by reading a poem (see this website to read the poem).
We wrote or drew a picture, then swapped our messages with each other to have them read out to the circle. As Peter said, the 'wisdom and creativity' of the group was amazing.
Neesa led us in a dance, singing "I am making my dreams come true". Then Jehanne sang two songs, "February" and "Manon of the Storm" in French.
February
‘February fill the dykes’,
That’s what the old rhymes call her,
When the tumbling torrents split their sides
And there’s mud beside the river,
When thrushes on the rooftops sing
A tantalizing ode to spring,
But the east wind hasn’t lost its sting
And the winter’s not yet over.
O Candlemas if thou be fine,
Spring will be long a-coming,
But if thou bring us clouds and rain,
Why then it’s time for roving,
Where the February maid’s are seen
In bridal white all trimmed with green
And the east wind sweeps the pavements clean
All of a Sunday morning.
It’s time to clear the ditches out
And lay the blackthorn hedges.
I’ll send my love a valentine
And all my heart’s true pledges.
We’ll meet beneath the old yew tree
Just long enough to say ‘Goodbye’.
Tomorrow I’ll be on my way
As far as this road reaches.
It’s February clear the decks,
Let every land be shriven.\
If we sweep our debris from the sky
The earth will be forgiven.
There’s many a carnival played out
On the February roundabout,
And many a beast with horns and snout
Out of his corner driven.
I’ll take my music on my back,
I’ll take my scarf and jacket
And I’ll follow that old March hare along
Through all the toil and traffic.
I’ll not expect the year to bring
A fortune fair nor anything
But love and just a chance to sing
These few songs in my pocket.
I’ll not expect the year to bring
A fortune fair nor anything
But love and just a chance to sing
The new songs in my pocket.
© Jehanne Mehta
Manon of the Storm (rough translation from the French)
Manon of the storm goes out in the wind, that jostles the daffodils at the threshold of spring. She takes on the day with same fervour as the vows of young lovers. She braids the twisting tendrils of ivy in her long pale hair that floats on the air, and I realize that there’s s huge gap between me and her fabled country.
Chorus: Heat of the sun, solidity of earth, gusts of wind, torrents of rain. Eye of the storm, source of all passion, Manon your mystery is the mystery of life.
When she goes out in the morning under the oak trees and the box, her rustling dress is woven from the streaming rain, with its gleams of silver under the great grey clouds, and she opens to the secrets of the winds. Manon runs barefoot in the sea foam, on that edge which is neither water nor land, and that’s where she harvests those fertile flashes that inspire words and songs.
Chorus as above.
Manon of the storm does not let herself be trapped by numbers, structures, routines or notebooks. She lives in the moment, does not weep for tha past and opens like a flower in the spring. And sometimes when fear holds me rigid I think of her and at last I sense her secret: that passion is the reverse side of a peace so complete that it goes beyond all anguish and all fear.
Chorus: Song of the thrush at the winter’s end when the power of the green pierces the frozen soil. Source of miracles, source of inspiration, Manon your mystery is the mystery of life.
We closed with a further poem from Neesa, and singing "This little heart of mine".
Announcements: Maxine Bennett is running another workshop on "Sing and play Interfaith Chants: Create a soundscape" on 20th February 2.00pm - 5.00pm at the Landsdown Gallery. Contact Neesa for more information.
Peter will be launching his books at the Imperial Hotel in Stroud on 5th March (details to follow).
Neesa began with a poem by Stephanie Kaza calling on Mother Earth. Then we sang a song "I walk in Beauty", to voice our intent to walk through life in a way that manifests our hopes and dreams.
I walk in beauty before me,
I walk in beauty behind me.
I walk in beauty above me,
I walk in beauty below me.
I walk in beauty all around me,
As I walk the beauty way
As I walk the beauty way
Peter read a poem:
Waking The Dreaming Self
I think I am walking on my own clean feet
But I end up knee deep in dirt.
I think I’m talking with my own pure tongue
But I hear poisonous words falling out of my mouth.
There is so much of me that I do not own -
I am riding a monster I cannot see
Except in the life I’ve made
And the world we share.
What is there waiting beneath our dreams, beneath our sleep
For our waking to reach down like dawn
And open it’s secrets?
What monsters, what caves, what treasures
Await the touch of our nervous feet,
And what streams of living water
Rise from those deep places?
Again and again life leads me to the living water
And I do not drink.
Again and again life takes me to the edge of my self
And I do not step over.
Again and again life shows me my ignorance
And I forget what I have seen.
Between opportunity and inertia, between courage and fear
I grow slowly like a crystal washed in a solution of experience.
I am learning the lesson of love as fast as I can
And painfully slowly.
I keep getting into trouble
And life keeps leading me to the water;
Next time I will stoop and drink.
Then Peter and Eve led an activity where we sent a message to our potential selves, showing how they might be brought into being over the coming year. Eve inspired us by reading a poem (see this website to read the poem).
We wrote or drew a picture, then swapped our messages with each other to have them read out to the circle. As Peter said, the 'wisdom and creativity' of the group was amazing.
Neesa led us in a dance, singing "I am making my dreams come true". Then Jehanne sang two songs, "February" and "Manon of the Storm" in French.
February
‘February fill the dykes’,
That’s what the old rhymes call her,
When the tumbling torrents split their sides
And there’s mud beside the river,
When thrushes on the rooftops sing
A tantalizing ode to spring,
But the east wind hasn’t lost its sting
And the winter’s not yet over.
O Candlemas if thou be fine,
Spring will be long a-coming,
But if thou bring us clouds and rain,
Why then it’s time for roving,
Where the February maid’s are seen
In bridal white all trimmed with green
And the east wind sweeps the pavements clean
All of a Sunday morning.
It’s time to clear the ditches out
And lay the blackthorn hedges.
I’ll send my love a valentine
And all my heart’s true pledges.
We’ll meet beneath the old yew tree
Just long enough to say ‘Goodbye’.
Tomorrow I’ll be on my way
As far as this road reaches.
It’s February clear the decks,
Let every land be shriven.\
If we sweep our debris from the sky
The earth will be forgiven.
There’s many a carnival played out
On the February roundabout,
And many a beast with horns and snout
Out of his corner driven.
I’ll take my music on my back,
I’ll take my scarf and jacket
And I’ll follow that old March hare along
Through all the toil and traffic.
I’ll not expect the year to bring
A fortune fair nor anything
But love and just a chance to sing
These few songs in my pocket.
I’ll not expect the year to bring
A fortune fair nor anything
But love and just a chance to sing
The new songs in my pocket.
© Jehanne Mehta
Manon of the Storm (rough translation from the French)
Manon of the storm goes out in the wind, that jostles the daffodils at the threshold of spring. She takes on the day with same fervour as the vows of young lovers. She braids the twisting tendrils of ivy in her long pale hair that floats on the air, and I realize that there’s s huge gap between me and her fabled country.
Chorus: Heat of the sun, solidity of earth, gusts of wind, torrents of rain. Eye of the storm, source of all passion, Manon your mystery is the mystery of life.
When she goes out in the morning under the oak trees and the box, her rustling dress is woven from the streaming rain, with its gleams of silver under the great grey clouds, and she opens to the secrets of the winds. Manon runs barefoot in the sea foam, on that edge which is neither water nor land, and that’s where she harvests those fertile flashes that inspire words and songs.
Chorus as above.
Manon of the storm does not let herself be trapped by numbers, structures, routines or notebooks. She lives in the moment, does not weep for tha past and opens like a flower in the spring. And sometimes when fear holds me rigid I think of her and at last I sense her secret: that passion is the reverse side of a peace so complete that it goes beyond all anguish and all fear.
Chorus: Song of the thrush at the winter’s end when the power of the green pierces the frozen soil. Source of miracles, source of inspiration, Manon your mystery is the mystery of life.
We closed with a further poem from Neesa, and singing "This little heart of mine".
Announcements: Maxine Bennett is running another workshop on "Sing and play Interfaith Chants: Create a soundscape" on 20th February 2.00pm - 5.00pm at the Landsdown Gallery. Contact Neesa for more information.
Peter will be launching his books at the Imperial Hotel in Stroud on 5th March (details to follow).
Subscribe to:
Posts (Atom)